Chapter 7 Close Call

Lark watched Leia wrap a blanket around Luke protectively and sit down beside him with unseeing eyes. She closed them against tears as the events of the day- days- caught up with her. So much had gone wrong, but amazingly, the mission was still a success.

She snorted inwardly. What classified as a success? Hundreds, no, thousands of people had died, including her parents and old friend, who also happened to be one of the only two remaining Jedi, a planet had been destroyed, and she felt like going insane. She rubbed her temples, wishing there was someone to comfort her.

Something bumped against her leg and beeped. She looked down as Artoo. In his claw-like arm, he held a gold cylinder. Lark caught her breath andclutchedher lightsaber. Maybe it would look stupid, but at the moment, she didn't care. Reaching down, she hugged the astro-droid.

"Thank you." She whispered.

> > > >

"Terrific." Han muttered.

Bob looked up. Wordlessly, Han pointed to approaching enemy ships. Bob groaned.

"We're coming up on the sentry ships." Han looked over at Chewie. "Hold 'em off! Angle the deflector shields while I charge up the main guns!"

> > > >

Lark looked up as Han rushed into the hold area where they were sitting.

"Come on, buddy, we're not out of this yet!" he said to Luke.

Lark stood. "What's going on?"

Han didn't stop to answer on his way out.

"Invisible again." Lark sighed. "How come people only notice me when they're trying to kill me?" Luke, Bob, and Han climbed down into separate gun ports cockpit, settling into the main laser cannons mounted in large rotating turrets on either side of the ship.

"How many cannons are there?" Lark called down to Han.

"Four!" he yelled back.

She nodded and climbed into an opening opposite the one Luke had disappeared into. Just because she was a girl didn't mean she couldn't man a cannon.

Han's voice came over the microphone, "You in, kid? Okay, stay sharp!"

Bob settled himself into the seat and reached for the controls as computer graphic readouts formed on his target screen."Here they come!" Leia's voice came over the intercom.

Bob readied himself and took aim as a TIE fighter moved in front of him. He followed it for a second, and then let fly with the laser cannon. The fighter burst into a million pieces.

"They're coming in too fast!" Luke sounded panicked.

"Relax." Han snapped, sounding as relaxed as a taught wire.

Bob opened his mouth to say something, but shut it as two more fighters came into view. He blasted one and then aimed at the other, but it suddenly exploded. Bob was confused. Han was on Luke's side. Who had fired?

"Is that Leia or…" he scrambled mentally.

"Lark." A voice came over the intercom.

"I knew that." Bob muttered, shooting another fighter.

"What are you doing there?" Han demanded.

"Do you want help or not?"

"Look, we've got everything…"

"Han!" Luke's voice broke in as the Flacon shuddered from a laserbolt.

"Shut up, we can discuss this later." Bob said.

"We've lost lateral controls." Leia said.

"Don't worry, she'll hold together." Han assured her.

"You hear me, baby? Hold together!" Han spoke to the ship.

"Got him! I got him!" Luke's triumphant voice crackled as the ship shuddered under the heavy fire.

"Great kid. Don't get cocky." Han muttered.

Bob shook his head. Luke was obviously growing on Han.

"There are still two more of them out there." Leia announced.

"Got one." Bob announced as his laserbolt hit the end of a fighter. It spiraled downward before exploding.

"Got the other." Han announced.

"That's it! We did it!" Luke was almost ecstatic.

Lark exhaled loudly and wiped her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned back, opening them again. She stared out at the stars.

"Thanks." She whispered, knowing that Obi-Wan had heard her.

> > > >

Darth Vader strode into the control room, where Tarkin was watching the huge view screen. A sea of stars was before him.

"Are they away?" Tarkin asked.

"They have just made the jump into hyperspace." Vader reported.

"You're sure the homing beacon is secure aboard their ship?" Tarkin demanded. "I'm taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work."

"It will work." Vader assured him. He turned to look at the stars. Obi-Wan was gone; a long grudge had been paid. But that wasn't what occupied his mind now. Instead of gloating, he thought about the Force shove he'd received right before he'd struck one of the final blows. He closed his eyes and called up the face he'd burned into his memory. A young, teenage girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes danced before his mind's eye. The face was familiar somehow, not just from their brief encounters when he'd been occupied with the princess. He thought for a minute, but nothing came to him. Oh well, he would find he soon enough. And then he would find out how she'd come to learn how to use the Force.

> > > >

Han removed his gloves and smiled, reclining in the pilot's chair. "Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh?" he gloated. "You know, sometimes I even amaze myself."

"That doesn't sound too hard." Leia commented. "Besides, they let us go. It's the only explanation for the ease of our escape."

"Easy? You call that easy?" Bob demanded. "Maybe you'd like to try…"

"They're tracking us!" Leia interrupted.

"Not this ship, sister." Han waved her off.

Frustrated, Leia shook her head. "At least the information in Artoo is still intact." She muttered.

"What's so important? What's he carrying?" Han asked.

"The technical readouts of that battle station." Leia answered. "I only hope that when the data is analyzed, a weakness can be found. It's not over yet!"

"It is for me, sister!" Han said. "Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money!"

"You needn't worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive!" Leia said loftily. She angrily turned left the cockpit, as Luke was coming in.

"Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything- or anyone." She said to him in passing.

"I care!" Luke protested. He sat in the copilot's seat, shaking his head.

Bob, leaning against the wall, stared out at the vastness of space. He didn't doubt Han would leave, but it left him with an interesting choice. Would he stay or go? Technically, he was supposed to stick with Han, but if what Obi-Wan had told him was true, he owed the rebels his help. And he didn't want to just abandon the others. He ran a hand through his hair.

"So...what do you think of her, Han?" Luke broke the silence.

"I'm trying not to, kid."

Bob smirked.

"Good." Luke muttered under his breath.

Both Han and Bob heard and shot him a double take.

"Still, she's got a lot of spirit." Han continued slyly, more to yank Luke's chain than anything else. "I don't know, what do you think? Do you think a princess and a guy like me..."

"No!" Luke interrupted. He looked away.

Han smiled at Luke's jealousy.

> > > >

Lark yawned as she woke up when someone entered the cabin. She sat up as she recognized Bob.

"Are we there yet?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Another few hours. I just came out to stretch my legs."

"Oh." Lark noticed the lightsaber hanging from his belt. "Where'd you get that?"

Bob fingered it gently. "Ben… Obi-Wan helped me make it."

Lark waited for him to continue. "Why?" she asked when he didn't.

"I guess because I was supposed to be a Jedi."

"What do you mean, 'supposed to'?"

"I was rescued from being killed along with the other Jedi." He told her.

She nodded. "I see."

Bob looked away. "I don't even know my family or my real name. The Jedi who rescued me left me with this deep space pilot named Shey. I was only a baby."

Lark perked up. "Shey? Shey what?"

"Shey Ryenae. Why, do you know him?"

Lark cleared her throat. "That's my uncle."

Bob looked at her sharply. "Your father is Jesse Ryenae?"

Lark nodded.

"Wow. What are the odds?"

"Not much, considering there's only a handful of Jedi left alive."

Bob conceded the point with a shrug.

"So you don't know much about using it, do you?" Lark indicated his saber.

"I know a little." Bob wondered why he was being defensive.

"I could show you more. Like you said, we've got a couple hours."

Bob shrugged. "Why not?"

I haven't been replying to any of the reviews, but if you ask a question in your review, I'll answer it in my AN.

Emerald Tiara: There really wasn't time since the droids were in a seperate part of the death star until right before they left. I made sure to give Lark a moment to retrieve it once they were onboard in this chapter.

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